Pedestrian, bicycle improvement projects moving along

Florida Weekly 'Outdoors' column, September 11, 2019
danMOSER
bikepedmoser@gmail.com

A rending of the temporary improvement on Fowler Street looking south toward Hanson Street. COURTESY IMAGE

As Lee County and all of Southwest Florida continues to grow at a breakneck pace many transportation projects are taking place as well. While most road improvement projects or new road development include sidewalks or shared-use paths and sometimes even bike lanes, the fact is that what generally continues to be designed and built are facilities intended to move motor traffic as quickly and efficiently as possible with non-motorists being treated as secondary users.

This approach means pedestrians and those on bicycles continue to face dangers and difficulties when navigating our public rights of way. In fact, many of the improvement projects turn our streets and roads into full-fledged highways with design speeds increased by 10 mph or higher than the posted speed limit (usually 40 mph higher), making using them a challenging and largely unpleasant task for non-motorists.

Here are a few project updates.

¦ Fowler Street from Hanson Street to MLK/SR-82 is the last segment of the Metro corridor stretching from Alico Road in south Fort Myers to just north of the Shell Factory in North Fort Myers. It’s been left unimproved for decades and is the definition of a dysfunctional road segment. Although it’s under the jurisdiction of FDOT, the city of Fort Myers has held up any kind of improvement since the late 1980s, all at the expense of pedestrians and cyclists. There are no sidewalks or even usable shoulders, not to mention driver safety is compromised, as it’s a four-lane road with no median or left- turn lanes. FDOT and Fort Myers have finally come to a tentative agreement on at least an interim plan that provides accommodation for pedestrians (bicycle users will be accommodated on parallel Evans Avenue with the addition of an on-road, two-way cycle track; the existing sidewalk will remain on Evans). As part of the plan, Evans will turn one of its three northbound lanes into a southbound one; Fowler will have two southbound lanes and one northbound.

Dan Moser is a long-time bicycle/pedestrian
advocate and traffic safety professional
who cycles, runs and walks regularly for
transportation, recreation and  fitness.
Contact him at bikepedmoser@gmail.com
and 239-334-6417.

The fact that FDOT is willing to take this temporary approach after almost 40 years of taking no action tells me there’s really no satisfying the city of Fort Myers, so what a final plan might be remains to be seen. This segment is appropriate for a one-way pair as there are a number of perpendicular streets running between Evans and Fowler, allowing for easy access to locations on both streets. But because the city has dug in against a one-way pair (even though that’s what exists from MLK to both spans of the Edison Bridge) we’re stuck with this temporary solution which may last for another few decades.

¦ The spine of Lee County’s trail network runs adjacent to the rail line between U.S. 41 and Metro Parkway and includes John Yarbrough Park Trail (JY Trail), which currently exists from Six Mile Cypress Parkway to Colonial Boulevard. The next phase continues north to Hanson. This is indeed welcome news. But there’s really no plan to extend it as a pathway that’s not along a highway from Hanson (it’ll run along Metro/Evans from there and the path is a sidewalk not a shared-use path). Additionally, one of the key features that was supposed to be part of this extension will not come to be: there will be no direct connection between JY Trail and North Colonial Linear Trail. FTOD even redesigned the Metro overpass just north of Winkler Avenue to accommodate this planned connection.

¦ On the southern end of JY Trail a long-overdue trailhead parking lot is in the works. Lee County purchased property west of Metro and the railroad tracks and east of Independence Circle and is currently designing the trailhead facility, which is slated to be constructed in 2020.

¦ The SUNTrail statewide trail system segment in Cape Coral is making progress. This 12-foot wide, 6.5-mile project runs from Burnt Store Road to the east along Van Buren Parkway, El Dorado Boulevard and Kismet Parkway, terminating at Del Prado Boulevard. It’s broken into two phases with design of phase 1 — from Burnt Store to Nelson Road — about complete and construction slated to begin next year. What should be interesting is how a segment east of Del Prado that’s necessary to meet up with the north-south SUNTrail corridor in North Fort Myers along 41 will be dealt with. Lee County is currently designing a realignment to directly connect Littleton Road to Kismet, but it does not appear to be including a shared-use path facility along it in the plan.

To learn about this topic and more, visit bikewalklee.blogspot.com and www.streetsaliveswfl.org.¦



For Lee County cycling and tri events visit Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club (caloosariders.org); Florida Mudcutters (mudcutters.org); and SW Florida Biking Meetup Group (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL). The Florida Bicycle Association (floridabicycle.org) is your source for statewide happenings. BikeWalkLee’s blog site has all the information you’ll need to stay abreast of advocacy efforts in Southwest Florida as well as statewide and nationally.

BikeWalkLee: This park needs a place to park

BikeWalkLee Column
The News-Press, August 1, 2019
by Ken Gooderham

Image source: wikipedia

The John Yarbrough Linear Park is a unique facility, as much a piece of transportation infrastructure (especially for cyclists) as it is a park. As such, it lacks one element that would make it more popular as a park – a place to park.

The linear park, which opened its first phase in 2005, stretches about 5 miles from Colonial Blvd. south to Six Mile Cypress Parkway along both sides of the Ten Mile Canal (which drains land from the City of Fort Myers southward and eventually empties into Mullock Creek and Estero Bay).

Its wide asphalt path conveys cyclists, runners, walker and skaters along a surprisingly natural swath of Southwest Florida. There are tables for picnics, shorelines for fishing and space for your dog to roam a bit (on leash, of course).

But what there isn’t is a place to park.

There is one area where the path intersects Daniels Parkway for a few cars to pull in (and it’s usually busy with walkers and dog owners. There’s an informal parking area at the southern terminus on a vacant lot in a commercial park off Six Mile Cypress… and, of course, people sometimes just pull off the road near where the path intersects, particularly to walk in a little and fish from the canal banks.

Parking is not as big a deal if you’re a cyclist, as many are going from one place to another via the park’s protected (and shaded, very welcome this time of year) pathway. But unless you live nearby (and a lot of people do), walking or fishing or bringing your dog for a change-of-pace walk is really not feasible.

That’s unfortunate, since the linear park is both a unique facility and a great place for a variety of pursuits. The fact that the pathway is removed from vehicular traffic (except when it crosses various roadways) is also a plus for cyclists who’d rather not deal with traffic and would enjoy a wide path with plenty of room for everyone to do their thing.

There are plans to build a trailhead park, which would include parking, restrooms and more, on a county parcel at the Six Mile end of the current path. The park was working its way through the permitting process earlier this year, and seemed on track for approval and construction, with funding proposed to get it under way in the next fiscal year.

The park was included in the draft FY 2019-2020 budget presented to the county commissioners at a briefing in early May. Subsequently, advocates have been informed that the project will not move forward next year as planned. No explanation has been given as of now.

This trailhead park will help boost use of the linear park, making it more feasible for people who aren’t nearby to come and enjoy the park’s unique facilities. It also might kick-start completion of the original linear park plan, which was to extend northward to tie in to the North Colonial Linear Trail and eventually up to Hanson Street. (It would be great to go all the way to downtown Fort Myers, but let’s wish for one thing at a time.)

Let’s hope a county commissioner or two starts asking about the status of the trailhead park once everyone is back from break next week. The funding source is there, the permitting was moving apace… so let’s get this back on track and under construction.

The linear park is a great facility… let’s make it available to more people to enjoy.

Ready to ride or run? 

Run? Not much in organized races until the end of August, with the Aug. 24 Rampage 5K on Aug. 24 at North Collier Regional Park (runelitevents.com). Once we get to September, your race schedule starts ramping up again.

Ride? Critical Mass keeps things moving through the sultry summer, with the big downtown ride Friday night, and Sanibel ride Aug. 10 and the NE Lee ride Aug. 16. These all are  night rides, so front and rear bike lights required; helmets recommended for all (meetup.com).

Both? Upcoming events include:

• Sunday, Aug. 4: Siesta Sprint Triathlon/Duathlon (trifind.com) 
• Monday, Sept. 2: Venice Sprint Tri, Sharky’s on the Pier, Venice (trifind.com)
• Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 7-8: Galloway Captiva Tri. Sprint on Saturday, kids’ events Sunday (https://www.gearedup.biz/captiva-triathlon)
• Saturday, Sept. 21: The Original Siesta Key Tri, sprint (runsignup.com)
• Willing to drive? Check trifind.com or active.com for tris around the state.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RIDE:

Have a favorite route you like to bike, or a unique walk you’d like to share with others? Tell us about it at info@bikewalklee.org, and maybe we can feature it in an upcoming column.

# # #

Ken Gooderham writes this on behalf of BikeWalkLee, a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County — streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information, statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org. 


 

Efforts underway to make cycling, walking better in Lee County

Florida Weekly 'Outdoors' column, 8/1/18
danMOSER
bikepedmoser@gmail.com

Turning this unpaved pathway along Cleveland Avenue into a paved trail would connect the two neighborhoods on either side of Fort Myers Country Club. DAN MOSER / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Depending on many factors, such as where we come from, where we visit, or our individual everyday experiences, our perspectives on Southwest Florida’s bike/pedestrian infrastructure and overall environment can fall anywhere from excellent to horrendous. I regularly hear comments reflecting both extremes.

I admit to looking at this subject very critically because I’m involved in so many aspects of it, from injury prevention to equitable transportation and recreation access for those on foot and bicycle. That being my point of view, our part of Florida rates a “C-”, with lots of room for improvement. That’s actually a generous grade, considering the Cape Coral/Fort Myers metro area is the most dangerous place in the country for pedestrians (smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design).

Rather than dwelling on what’s lacking I thought I’d provide a sampling of what’s coming in terms of infrastructure projects and what other efforts are taking place to get us off the top of the Dangerous by Design list.


¦ Central and south Lee County: The last infrastructure element of Lee County’s $10 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery)(leempo.com) grant is wrapping up as wayfinding signage are being installed. The bulk of funding went to improve our bike/ ped/transit network from Colonial south to the Collier County line, mostly on U.S. 41 and points east.

¦ Lehigh Acres: Planning work continues for the Able Canal Multi-Use Trail (swflroads.com/ablecanalpathway) that will serve as a 5.5-mile linear park as well as linking existing parks and recreation areas in Lehigh Acres. There’s a way to go before the pathway is on the ground but funding to continue moving towards that end is in place.

¦ Cape Coral: The possibility of creating public use within the long-abandoned Cape Coral Golf Club property remains alive (saveourrecreation.us). After a developer’s plan to build homes on the site was denied by the city in 2017 the city council approved the reinstatement of the Park Master Plan Stakeholders Group in order to come up with recreational-use recommendations for the 175-acre former golf course. The city still doesn’t own the property but it is in negotiations with its owners.

¦ Fort Myers: A non-motorized link between Cleveland Avenue and McGregor Boulevard will likely run along Fort Myers Country Club property on Hill Avenue. A major benefit is the possibility of utilizing the canal berm along Carrell Road from Cleveland to points east, theoretically linking to both John Yarbrough (JY) Trail and North Colonial Linear Trail. Since the proposed trail from McGregor to U.S. 41 must run along a portion of the golf course property along Cleveland to get to the intersection with Carrell, the next logical addition to the plan would be to continue north along U.S. 41 to Halgrim Avenue, thereby connecting the two neighborhoods on either side of the golf course and giving residents access to the Carrell trail.

¦ Fort Myers: The extension of JY north of Colonial is also being studied. The ultimate plan is to reach downtown and the river, mainly utilizing the existing Metro/ Evans corridor. But the key missing link at this point — besides the pathetic segment of Fowler Street from near Hanson Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (that’s a sad story in itself) — is from Colonial to the new Metro overpass north of Winkler. If properly designed and constructed (a big “if”) JY will also connect to the existing North Colonial Linear Trail and the proposed Carrell Road trail. Information about the two Fort Myers projects can be found at cfmpathwaystudies.com.

¦ Southwest Florida Critical Mass (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL): These well-established outings are not your usual group rides in that they truly represent the essence of having fun on a bike. And while the rides are entertaining they also raise awareness about traffic safety and the benefits of cycling.

¦ Streets Alive of SWF (streetsaliveswfl.org): This nonprofit that began as the creator of two Open Road/Cyclovia events has morphed into one that, according to its mission statement, will foster a livable community through activities, advocacy, education and service.

¦ BikeWalkLee (bikewalklee.org & bikewalklee.blogspot.com): With a mission similar to Streets Alive this community coalition that was established in 2008 works to raise public awareness and advocate for Complete Streets in Lee County. The main difference is that BWL works behind the scenes on governmental policy matters and posts information related to advancing Complete Streets on its blog and via e-newsletters.

¦ Bicycle/pedestrian master plans and bike map: Lee MPO (leempo.com) is the conduit for funding of local jurisdiction bike/ped master plans that identify needs and quantify required resources. Along with those slated to be funded in the near future is the revision of a countywide bike/ped safety action plan. As well, work on a new edition of Lee County’s bike map should be forthcoming from Lee MPO now that TIGER grant projects are complete.¦


- Dan Moser is a long-time bicycle/pedestrian advocate and traffic safety professional who cycles, runs and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. Contact him at bikepedmoser@gmail.com and 334-6417. 

For Lee County cycling and tri events visit Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club (caloosariders.org); Florida Mudcutters (mudcutters.org); and SW Florida Biking Meetup Group (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL). The Florida Bicycle Association (floridabicycle.org) is your source for statewide happenings. BikeWalkLee’s blog site has all the information you’ll need to stay abreast of advocacy efforts in Southwest Florida as well as statewide and nationally.

The highs and lows for outdoors activities during 2017

Florida Weekly 'Outdoors' column, 1/3/18
danMOSER
bikepedmoser@gmail.com

Plenty happened in 2017 that impacts those of us who spend a lot of time outdoors - some good and some bad.

¦ Hurricane Irma brought its wrath to our area with a direct hit, creating problems for many months after its passing, including in our parks and on our pathways. As with any impactful event like Irma some good comes with the bad. Neighbors helped neighbors, strangers helped strangers, and public safety personnel went above and beyond the call of duty. One group of volunteers whom I feel deserve to be recognized for the heavy lifting they’ve done - and continue to do - to reopen Caloosahatchee Regional Park’s many miles of mountain bike trails, is the Florida Mudcutters. They were ready to get to work well before Lee County Parks and Rec would allow them to do so for safety reasons and continued to chomp at the bit while awaiting permission to take on what is a difficult task after a normal summer, never mind post-hurricane. Anyone who enjoys the challenging single-track trails at CRP should be grateful to this outstanding corps of volunteers, the same group who built the trails in the first place.

Trail in Caloosahatchee Regional Park (Photo: news-press.com)

¦ The hurricane also brought to light some very weak elements of the various governments’ recovery processes which, in general, was admirable. However, in too many cases bike paths, sidewalks, and even some bike lanes along roads and highways much too busy for most non-motorists to attempt to “share” with drivers, were left blocked by debris well after what can be considered a reasonable time period. This resulted in unnecessarily hazardous situations and denial of access for pedestrians - including those with disabilities - and bicyclists. For example, the Summerlin Road pathway along the Whiskey Creek wall was inaccessible for over a month because of three or four piles of downed trees that were quite obvious to any government official driving by. Hopefully, when another storm creates similar access and safety problems for non-motorists, our governments will put pathway on the same priority level as the roads they run adjacent to.

¦ Just like the classic movie “Groundhog Day,” missed opportunities by the city of Fort Myers to improve its walking and bicycling environment occur over and over, and 2017 was no exception. One of the main misses this time involves the city’s signature roadway, McGregor Boulevard. Over 20 years after blowing the first chance to either widen the sidewalks to shared use width or add bike lanes, they did it again. When FDOT “improved” McGregor in the mid-1990s before giving it over to Fort Myers, the city could have pitched in dollars to make either or both of those improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists, but it chose not to. (Ironically, it was illegal to ride a bike on sidewalks at that time so rather than make necessary improvements they simply changed the law.) This time, after convincing FDOT that it did a poor job on the storm water infrastructure back in the 90s, they were awarded enough money to redo that element of McGregor. That prompted a number of us to lobby the city to add some of its own funds to do what should have been done two decades earlier - widen sidepaths or remove all medians - but officials declined, crying poor. Interestingly, they somehow came up with money to add more medians - the very features that make cycling on the road a non-starter for most people (you rarely see anyone riding in the travel lanes of McGregor). After finally caving in to a cry for public input on the matter they held a McGregor Landscape Medians Public Workshop in November. But before even considering the results they began reconstructing the medians that had existed before work began. To this day I have no idea what the outcome of the workshop is nor have I been able to get answers from the city. In terms of Fort Myers missing opportunities, failing to listen to its citizens, and making poor decisions in general, I don’t expect 2018 to be any different than it’s been for decades.

¦ On a positive note, there’s Sanibel Island. I admit to sometimes coming down hard on the city of Sanibel, usually for the way cyclists using the roads are treated. But it should also be commended for its commitment to continually improving the extensive pathway network and, in 2017, for making that network a high priority for reopening after Hurricane Irma.

¦ Finally, Lee County’s purchase of Edison Farms is a major positive event for our area, a decision that puts an end to the possibility of the almost 4,000- acre property being developed. It would be great if walking, running and biking trails are part of the plan but even if that’s not in the cards it’s a win all around. At the very least, the historic flooding that occurred in 2017 won’t be added to by additional development and the land will instead serve important environmental, water quality and storm water management purposes. ¦

- Dan Moser is a long-time bicycle/pedestrian advocate and traffic safety professional who cycles, runs and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. Contact him at bikepedmoser@gmail.com and 334-6417. 

For Lee County cycling and tri events visit Caloosa Riders Bicycle Club (caloosariders.org); Florida Mudcutters (mudcutters.org); and SW Florida Biking Meetup Group (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL). The Florida Bicycle Association (floridabicycle.org) is your source for statewide happenings. BikeWalkLee’s blog site has all the information you’ll need to stay abreast of advocacy efforts in Southwest Florida as well as statewide and nationally.

A Complete Streets champion bids farewell to Southwest Florida

Florida Weekly 'Outdoors' column, 6/21/17
danMOSER
bikepedmoser@gmail.com

In the decades I’ve lived here and been involved in efforts to make our community safer and more accessible for pedestrians and those on bicycles I’ve had the pleasure of working with many smart and dedicated individuals.

Among these folks are a special few who have risen above and beyond what would otherwise be considered fitting in terms of their commitment and effectiveness. Dr. Margaret Banyan, a professor in FGCU’s Southwest Florida Center for Public & Social Policy, is one such special person.

Unfortunately for us, Dr. Banyan is moving back to her roots in Portland, Ore., a place from which many of her ideas and philosophy were born. But her influence and accomplishments will remain here and continue to motivate others to keep working towards making our public rights-of-way safe and accessible Complete Streets.

As a way to show how much Margaret is appreciated, BikeWalkLee broke from its usual protocol and is formally recognizing one of its own as the 2017 Complete Streets Champion of the Year. Such an honor is not usually bestowed upon a steering committee member from the coalition but an exception in this case is clearly warranted. Even were she not leaving, Margaret would be worthy of this award.

Darla Letourneau, left, and Dr. Margaret
Banyan,right, present a BWL award to
Billy Hattaway at Orlando City Hall.
Courtesy photo.

My Oct. 7, 2015, column focused on women leaders in our community and I wrote this about Margaret: “Margaret Banyan has brought her experiences from living in a place where being able to enjoy an active lifestyle without fear for one’s own safety and wellbeing is commonplace. Coming from Oregon and now working in academia she has made it her mission to convince the powers that be - from university leadership to elected officials and other decision makers in government - that focusing on walkability, bikability, and robust transit is necessary to have a livable community that attracts and retains the best and brightest.” One important aspect I failed to mention at that time was Margaret’s mentoring of students and citizen advocates into becoming leaders in the Complete Streets cause as well as other efforts to improve our community. So even when she’s no longer one of the driving forces here her influence and expertise will remain.

Those of us who have been working with Margaret will certainly miss her but we know she’ll be here in spirit. That spirit, as anyone who deals with non-motorized transportation, transit and community planning matters knows, needs to be one of persistence and patience because it’s an uphill battle.

Even though our decision makers are well aware of the infamous reputation we have for our pedestrian, cycling and transit environment (now confirmed by being ranked the most dangerous place in the U.S. for pedestrians, among other markers) turning that negative into a positive remains quite difficult. In Margaret’s case, even when addressing those less than supportive of her ideas and approach, she is able to keep her cool, remain a consummate professional, and provide facts, data, and solutions that make her case compelling, whatever the specific matter at hand.

One project Margaret’s been involved with since its inception is improvements being considered for Ortiz Avenue from Martin Luther King Boulevard/SR 82 to Palm Beach Boulevard / SR 80, a section that has very heavy pedestrian and bicycle use. The community would prefer the northern segment, from Luckett Road to SR 80, to remain as a two-lane street but with complete streets features.

Lee County, the road’s owner, wants it to be a four-lane highway that focuses on moving cars. Considering Lee County has a Complete Streets policy in place it’s hoped that they’ll follow their own policy and the will of the people who live in the area and drive, walk, and bike on this street.

Fortunately, from what Margaret has told us, she’ll occasionally be back here in her consulting capacity, continuing to make Southwest Florida a better place. For all Margaret’s done and will continue to do, we are grateful.

As stated by BikeWalkLee’s Darla Letourneau when the award was announced on June 17: “Today we honor Dr. Banyan as an outstanding champion of complete streets and livable communities in multiple capacities throughout Lee County over the past decade. As one of the founding members of BikeWalkLee, we also honor Margaret for incredible contributions to our organization since it was founded in 2009. Many of our successes would not have been possible without Margaret. While her leadership and commitment to the Complete Streets movement in SWFL will be greatly missed, she leaves a legacy of accomplishment, and an impressive group of talented young leaders who will carry the Complete Streets/Livable Communities movement forward into the future. BikeWalkLee is deeply grateful to Margaret for her many contributions to making our community a better place, and to being a key part of the BikeWalkLee Steering Group team from the beginning. We are confident that her contributions to the Complete Streets movement will continue wherever she goes.” ¦

- Dan Moser is a long-time bicycle/pedestrian advocate and traffic safety professional who cycles, runs and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. Contact him at bikepedmoser@gmail.com and 334-6417. 

Still can’t get there from here: Lee County’s serious lack of access

Florida Weekly 'Outdoors' column, 10/19/2016 
danMOSER
bikepedmoser@gmail.com

For as much progress as our area has seen in terms of bicycle and pedestrian improvements, serious and major shortcomings remain. Most egregious is the complete lack of pedestrian access between Fort Myers and Cape Coral and between the mainland and Sanibel Island. As well, many of our urbanized and built-out areas and corresponding roads that are west of (and include) U.S. 41 are lacking in adequate bicycle accommodation. Colonial Boulevard, College Parkway, Cypress Lake Drive and Cleveland Avenue north of Daniels Parkway are chief among them, having nothing more than 5-foot or 6-foot sidewalks and no bike lanes. There’s little option but to use these major thoroughfares and when traversing them, as a pedestrian or cyclist, none offer adequate or safe accommodation.

Here’s one way to look at this inequity: For pedestrians to cross the Caloosahatchee River, only one of the four bridges spanning the river between downtown Fort Myers and College Parkway have a sidewalk, meaning anyone who wants to legally cross the river by foot must use the one span of the Edison Bridge that has a 5-foot sidewalk. So, to go from McGregor Boulevard at College Parkway on the Fort Myers side to Cape Coral Parkway on the west side, the difference in distance if the Cape Coral Bridge had a sidewalk is two miles versus the 20-mile trek required by using McGregor, Edison Bridge, Pondella/Hancock and Del Prado. For those wanting to do so from the Fort Myers side to Cape Coral from the base of the Midpoint Bridge, the difference is four miles versus 14 miles.

The Edison Bridge is the only bridge from Fort  Myers
to Cape Coral/North Fort Myers that allows pedestrians.
DAN MOSER/FLORIDA WEEKLY

Cyclists fare little better crossing the river. Although some have motor vehicle breakdown lanes, none of the approaches to, or exits from bridges accommodate that use. Worse yet, to go from Fort Myers to Cape Coral there’s no shoulder on westbound Cape Coral Bridge so it’s not really an option, considering the traffic conditions most times of the day. The Caloosahatchee River Bridge (“New 41”) has no shoulders in either direction and FDOT indicates both bikes and pedestrians are prohibited, although I believe the bike prohibition is unenforceable since the bridge doesn’t meet the “limited access” standard required to keep bikes and low-speed vehicles off. However, regardless of legal issues, using that structure is an adventure very few cyclists would even consider.

Regular readers of this column may find this topic to be little more than me once again beating my head against the wall. Indeed, it’s pretty sad that I have to repeat this drumbeat over and over but I consider it necessary lest things remain the same indefinitely. Even with these transportation inequities being documented there’s absolutely nothing being considered to remedy any of the aforementioned problems. The reason given, of course, is cost, but to me it’s really a matter of priority — plenty of funds are spent on motor vehicle accommodation that are not even necessary (Alico Road improvement east of I-75 is one current glaring example). Other than the fact that all bridges eventually need to be replaced, the river will remain a barrier for the foreseeable future. Retro-fitting them with cantilever sidepaths or reallocating existing space to include accommodations are not options, according to those who dole out funds. The same goes for surface roads that have similar issues; right of way can be reconfigured to add bike lanes or at least widen sidewalks into multi-use paths, but that’s not something our car-centric funders are interested in spending money to do.

On any given day you’ll find many walkers and runners on the southbound span of the Edison Bridge — the only one where pedestrians are allowed. Most are there for exercise but some are using the sidewalk to get from one place to another. The exercise and recreation use is just as valid as the transportation function if you put in perspective that many motor vehicle trips are not for critical purposes but are taken for other reasons. The Sanibel Causeway is the most outrageous example of this disparity in access. A conscious and discriminatory decision to deny pedestrian use was made by Lee County when replacing the bridges less than a decade ago. If you think things need to change you’ll have to get involved in one way or another. One place to start is by going to BikeWalkLee’s blog to see how you can take action. Contacting Lee County commissioners is another first step to consider. Fixing these serious problems may not happen in many of our lifetimes but our area’s young people shouldn’t be denied the access we all deserve. ¦


- Dan Moser is a long-time bicycle/pedestrian advocate and traffic safety professional who cycles, runs and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. Contact him at bikepedmoser@gmail.com and 334- 6417.

NBC2 News fragment on Complete Streets progress

NBC2 television had a News fragment yesterday featuring the Lee County TIGER grant 'Complete Streets' progress at the FGCU Campus entrance. Watch BWL's Dan Moser being interviewed by NBC2's Joe Roetz.

Lee County Sheriff's Office outlines 2016 strategy for reducing traffic fatalities

As a follow-up to the Naples Daily News Jan. 5th editorial about 2015 roadway safety, which included an outline of the Collier County Sheriff's Office 2016 strategy but not a comparable report from Lee County, BikeWalkLee contacted Sheriff Scott to ask for the LCSO strategy.  We appreciate Sheriff Scott and his staff's quick response to our request, which is provided below:

On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 4:25 PM, Petracca, Dennis <dpetracca@sheriffleefl.org> wrote:

Darla,

Sheriff Mike Scott asked that I respond to your email pertaining to the article from the Naples Daily News.  

With the recent increase in traffic fatalities on our roadways in Lee County during 2015 the Lee County Sheriff's Office for 2016 will focus the enforcement efforts towards the primary causations of the crashes such as red light running, distracted driving and aggressive driving since these were the primary contributing factors in many of the traffic crashes that resulted in fatalities during 2015. To combat these issues we will have a zero tolerance for this type of driving patterns with increased traffic operations in the areas that had high frequencies of traffic crashes.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office was recently awarded two grants to assist with overtime funding towards impaired driving and pedestrian and bicycle enforcement. With this additional funding the Traffic Unit will increase the current traffic operations focusing on inattentive drivers who fail to see or obey the pedestrians and bicycles on our roadways. Impaired drivers  have always been a focus for enforcement at the Lee County Sheriff's Office and we will be increasing our current impaired driving operations with additional saturations patrols and sobriety checkpoints.  

Education is part of making our roadways safe and we will continue to coordinate and instruct portions of the Youth Driver Program and High Risk Driver Program with Lee Memorial Hospital and in addition working with the local media groups in hopes of educating all of drivers about the seriousness of bad driving behaviors and bad driving choices can result is serious consequences.

Weekly we review traffic crash locations to determine what the causations of the crashes are. Based upon the finding if it’s an enforcement effort the Traffic Unit will focus its efforts in those high crash zones. If it appears to be a engineering issue we work close with both the Florida Department of Transportation and Lee County Department of Transportation and review locations monthly in hopes of making areas in questions safe for the driving, walking and bicycling community.

In all increased enforcement efforts with the Lee County Sheriff's Office will be the primary focus in 2016 with a zero tolerance for bad driving behavior and those who make bad choices while driving.

Thank you,

Lt. Dennis Petracca

Lee County Sheriff's Office

Traffic Unit

239-477-1378

Lee County's Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) requests commissioners for additional bike/ped retrofit funds

Kudos to BPAC for its recent letter to BoCC requesting additional funds for bike/ped retrofit projects.

Background on BPAC

BPAC is a 11-member committee, established in 1989, and  appointed by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners to evaluate and recommend bicycle and pedestrian facilities to be built in Lee County.  It evaluates citizen requests for retrofit bike/ped facilities, reviews projects for complete streets, and considers member and staff requests for projects needed to fill gaps in the county's system.  Based on these reviews, it recommends a prioritized list to the BoCC for consideration in the annual CIP budget.  (Click here for background on the committee, its charter and its members.)

BPAC Action

Over the past decade the need for retrofit projects has grown as the funds available to meet these needs has declined in real terms, resulting in a growing backlog and citizen concerns about requested projects not being funded.  This Fall, BPAC began discussing the need for additional funds. At the Nov. 19th BPAC meeting the committee discussed its proposal to send a letter to BoCC to request additional funds for bike/ped retrofit projects.  The committee agreed to make this topic the main agenda item for the Dec. 17th meeting and invited committee members and members from the public present at the meeting to submit ideas and data analysis for their consideration for that Dec. 17th discussion. Click here for BikeWalkLee's report analyzing the history and trends in LeeDOT funding of bike/ped stand-alone projects that was submitted to BPAC in December.  

 At BPAC's Jan. 18th meeting, the committee unanimously agreed to send a letter to the BoCC asking for an annual funding level of $2 million for bike/ped retrofit projects.  In the current 5-year CIP, $3.86 M is budgeted for these projects, or $772,000/year. Thus, the requested funding level is about 2.5 times more than the current funding level.

 Note that the BPAC request only deals with stand alone retrofit projects, which is the focus of BPAC's responsibilities.  Since the adoption of the 2009 Complete Streets Resolution, it has been standard practice for the County to include bike/ped facilities in road projects being constructed.  Funds for those projects are included in the overall road project costs. 

The following letter was sent to BoCC members on Feb. 12, 2015:

Honorable Commissioners:

As you are aware, 2014 has been a deadly year for cyclists and pedestrians in Lee County with 19 deaths within incorporated and unincorporated areas in Lee County, making us one of the highest counties in Florida for fatalities.

One of the BPAC responsibilities is to prioritize and recommend retrofit projects to the BoCC.  Currently, we have 85 projects at an estimated cost of about 65 million dollars on our waiting list.  Most of these projects were initiated by citizen's requests or by BPAC members to fill gaps in our system.  We typically receive about six new requests per year.  Currently, we have good projects that have been on our list for over 20 years that have not been scheduled for construction.

With the rate of new requests and our current backlog, it would take well over 50 years to complete the project list.  It is disconcerting to citizens who take the time to speak at committee meetings, to find out that by the time the sidewalk they are requesting for their children to walk to school is completed, their children will have already graduated from high school.  Bicycle and pedestrian retrofit facilities are funded through gas tax, impact fees and grants.

With recent changes in the LDC and adoption of Complete Streets by the BoCC in 2009, new development and roads are designed and built to include the appropriate bicycle and pedestrian facilities.  We have many years of legacy development which were originally built to the standard of the day, but do not meet current construction standards.

Our goal is to be the best bicycle-pedestrian-friendly county in Florida.  We respectfully request the BoCC to increase the budget for bicycle and pedestrian retrofits to $2,000,000 per year.  Please consider increasing existing sources and/or research alternative funding for bicycle and pedestrian facilities retrofits.

Sincerely,

Don Mayne, Chair

Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee

League of American Bicyclists visiting Lee County in January to provide assistance as part of Bicycle Friendly Community program

Lee County continues in the national spotlight, with LAB official coming to Lee County communities next month to bring bicycle-friendly expertise directly to the local level. Kudos to Trek for providing funds for this important LAB national initiative.

BikeWalkLee is excited that Lee County has been selected as one of the 100 communities that the League of American Bicyclists will be visiting in 2015, as part of its new initiative to bring bicycle-friendly expertise directly to the local level, thanks to the support of Trek and Trek dealers.  Click here for the LAB letter about their upcoming visit to southern Florida.

The goal of the visit is to help Lee County (and cities within Lee County) become more bicycle friendly and ultimately become recognized as a "Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC)."  Steve Clark, the League's new Bicycle Friendly Community Specialist, hired in 2013 for this initiative, has been a long-time bicycle advocate, a League Certified Instructor and trainer of instructors, and was the bicycle coordinator in Boulder, CO for many years--one of the most bicycle-friendly communities in the country. To read more about Steve, check out LAB's article.

Steve Clark will be coming to Lee County for a full week, from Jan. 12-17, and is the process of setting up a series of visits to be hosted by city/county staff.  The basic format for these visits is for Steve to request each city/county jurisdiction he's visiting to invite the participants (approximately 12 people--mix of citizens, staff and policy makers) for a half-day event that includes a short (5-7 mile) bike ride for the participants and a debriefing session.  While Steve's itinerary is still being worked out, he plans to set up these visits with a Lee MPO team, Sanibel (Lee County's only BFC), Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and possibly Bonita Springs and Estero.

Steve Clark

Steve is in touch with BikeWalkLee about his visit and we'll keep you informed as his plans are firmed up.  This is an exciting opportunity for Lee County (and its cities) to get some hands-on technical assessment of its bicycling infrastructure and to learn about best practices from other communities, with the goal of making Lee County more bicycle friendly.

Report by Darla Letourneau

Moser Commentary: Weighing bike and pedestrian achievements and oversights

Dan Moser's in-depth commentary in last week's Florida Weekly about the positive and negative bike/ped/transit/complete streets developments throughout Lee County.

Sept. 10, 2014: Florida Weekly:  Perspective by Dan Moser

Dan Moser

Admittedly, I don't always see the forest through the trees when it comes to my perspective on the bike/pedestrian environment here in Southwest Florida, or even throughout our state. Having been involved as an advocate and professionally for more than three decades, my expectations are perhaps too high because I’m keenly aware of many other places where conditions are much better than here, including some that had been as deficient as ours at one time. Here, I'll share some examples of why I'm frequently disappointed, perplexed, disturbed and sometimes angry about the situation for those who simply want to bike, walk, run, use a wheelchair, skate or push a stroller safely on our public ways. I’ll also include the truly positive achievements that have occurred, examples that reflect the fact that things really are better now than even a few years ago.

• The good: Lee County's Metropolitan Planning Organization, followed by formal action from Lee County and the city of Fort Myers, has adopted “Complete Streets” policies. The bad: Except for Lee County, implementation has been mostly absent, with Lee County's commitment clearly wavering now that our cookiecutter development economy is returning, which apparently means LeeDOT’s transportation mindset has also reverted to business as usual. Perhaps the city of Fort

North Estero Boulevard on Fort MyersBeach is a model “Complete StreetMyers will surprise me by actually implementing the formal policy it approved.

• The good: Lee County drafted and worked for a number of years to update its Comprehensive Plan. The draft includes guidelines to reduce sprawl, improve quality of life and move us in the direction the public clearly asked for in the lead-up to the development of this version of the plan. The bad: The Comp Plan is being watered down as it moves through the various stages of formal approval and is looking a lot like the old one (see above paragraph for the reason).

• The good: Lee County has been recognized nationally as a leader among governments for its draft Sustainability Plan, another guiding document that has far reaching economic, environmental, and livability benefits. The bad: County leadership has pulled the plug on the plan without formally approving it. The reason? See above.

• The good: The city of Fort Myers has created a vibrant downtown that attracts locals and visitors alike to spend time and money in this very walkable environment. The bad: Many areas of the city lack even basic pedestrian features, with cycling accommodation on city roads being even less prevalent, including, ironically, routes that would get folks downtown.

• The good: In a second attempt in a decade, a Transit Task Force worked for more than two years to develop a plan to move LeeTran from being a struggling, underfunded, under-appreciated department of Lee County government to becoming its own transit authority, a step that would allow it to grow and become a self-sustaining entity that will actually provide appropriate transit service. The bad: Another victim of plug-pulling by county leadership, although the reasons in this case appears to be a lack of commitment to transit as much as “back to business as usual.”

• The good: Citizens and business operators came together to develop a plan for the Tice Historic Community that includes improvements to Ortiz Avenue with a design that keeps at least a segment of the road from becoming a neighborhood-killing highway. The fewer-lane, slower-speed design will still move motor vehicles efficiently but be safer and includes bike/ped accommodation, abundant green space and an environment for small business to thrive. The bad news is that LeeDOT appears bent on turning it into yet another high-speed, multi-lane highway that residents don’t want and that’s not needed.

Where's the story?9 Points Mentioned

I’ll close with achievements that have indeed made positive and lasting impacts without offsetting bad news: Estero Boulevard on Fort Myers Beach will finally be getting long-awaited improvements that include pedestrian accommodations along all of it and bike lanes on much of it. Bonita Springsand Estero appear to be on track to become two of the most bike/ped-friendly communities in Lee County. Sanibel is a Bronze-level Bike Friendly Community that continues to expand and improve its network of paths. The $10 million TIGER grant Lee MPO was awarded will soon result in significant bike/ped and transit improvements. Cape Coral is about to complete marking more than 90 miles of bike routes and continues to work on closing gaps and providing bike/ped alternatives to major roads and intersections. And, finally, there are many good people working in various roles in government and for consultants who are making a difference, even when sometimes fighting uphill battles within their respective organizations. To those who still do and others who did but have moved on, your efforts are appreciated by many. Thank you.

— Dan Moser is a long- time bicycle/ pedestrian advocate and traffic safety professional who cycles, runs and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. Contact him atbikepedmoser@gmail.com or 334- 6417.